I'm not a hip-hop fan, but every since If Rap Gets Jealous I've followed K'naan and enjoyed some of it. Really enjoyed this confessional article from him, about the difficulty of staying true to himself:

Lost in Translation -- I guess I had heard of Scarlett Johansson before, but had never seen a movie with her in it. Like Liv Tyler in Stealing Beauty, I found her mesmerizing -- every half-smile and averted gaze was amazing somehow. And Bill Murray is unreal. I think I this was recommended by Angelo years ago, and somehow I came across the positive Rotten Tomatoes page that prompted me to finally pick it up.

Brave -- we hit this one at the second-run theater and I liked it more than I should have.

Ponyo -- I was super disappointed the first time I saw this, but enjoyed it more the second time around.

Porco Rosso and The Cat Returns -- I had forgotten how excellent these less-popular Miyazaki films are.

Moonrise Kingdom -- Ivy joined me for this movie as a double-daddy-daughter date with Hannah and Andrew -- thumbs up from the dads, thumbs down from the daughters.

Kung Fu Panda 1 & 2 -- I love these disproportionately

The Hobbit -- wow, crappy movie. I was pretty excited to see it, but...jeez, just stick to the bloody story already.

Sunday, December 30, 2012

In a rare fit of seeking out grown-up fiction, I dove into two novels by David Mitchell: Cloud Atlas and Black Swan Green. Everyone has probably heard of the former, and I loved it. Thanks to Linsey for the recommendation! The movie doesn't look as enjoyable, but just opened in the second-run theater, so I should probably give it a go. Black Swan Green was more personal, and probably somewhat autobiographical -- a classic young-boy-coming-of-age story that had me laughing out loud at times and cringing at others.

What is a Print? -- gorgeous book outlining the different types of printmaking, with beautiful examples of each and a simple, concise writing style.

My Aunt Carol's Cover Letter Queen is quite an accomplishment for a first-time author. Although I enjoyed it partly because it's fun to read stuff written by people you know, the quality of this book transcends the personal connection -- it's funny and smart, with zippy pacing and a strong voice.

Back Roads by Ted Ferguson was fascinating -- a guy who uproots his family and moves to the boonies of northern Alberta for a sort of modern pioneering experiment.

A book titled 7 Laws of Magical Thinking wouldn't usually be my cup of tea, but the subtitle is more accurate: How Irrational Beliefs Keep Us Happy, Healthy and Sane. I thought the author did a better job of outlining our irrational beliefs than he did in addressing the potential positives of those cognitive biases -- to me they still mostly seemed negative.

Thinking Fast and Slow -- this was round three for me on this book, and I keep thinking about it after each read. Tour de force on the subject of how we think, make decisions and where it all goes wrong.

The Amulet series has been a huge hit around here for years already, but I finally read right through it beginning to end (well, as far as it has gone at this point). Wonderful stuff, fun and smart.

We finally finished books 2 and 3 in Anne Ursu's Cronus Chronicles: The Siren's Song and The Immortal Fire -- the girls really dug it, probably nearly as much as the similar Percy Jackson series we read together last year.

We all waited patiently for the library's glacially slow copy of A Hero for WondLa to arrive months after it was available in stores -- as good as the original, with amazing illustration and a compelling story.

I had heard good things about Wildwood, but the amazing cover art and inside illustrations could not sustain my interest. We all agreed to give up on it after about 200 pages, which is rare for us.

I'm in awe of the Mouse Guard series and read them right through: Fall 1152, Winter 1152, and Legends of Mouse Guard. Incredible art. Ezra can sit looking at these graphic novels for hours.

Sweet Tooth Book 4 -- I'm totally hooked on this post-apocalyptic comic series, and can't wait for the next one.

Inside Out and Back Again blew my mind and had me weeping at several points. It's a kids' book told entirely in sparse verse, describing a child's experience of escaping from Vietnam near the end of the war, and trying to adapt to life in the deep south of the U.S...amazing book.

Ezra and I have been getting back into picture books, although we also blew through two favourite dragon series again: Dragons of Wayward Crescent and My Father's Dragon. We're also doing Narnia, skipping The Magician's Nephew and then working through the series in order -- currently on Voyage of the Dawn Treader, just before Eustace becomes a dragon (to go with the theme...)

Trent Reznor's side project with his wife is called How to Destroy Angels -- I'm been streaming their new EP, and it sounds good. Definitely veers into self-indulgence with a sort of Lennon-Yoko Ono experimental approach at times.

Watching

Across the Universe -- this was recommended as a musical for people who hate musicals (me), and I found it pretty interesting. Trippy and clever.

The Nightmare Before Christmas -- a Halloween/Christmas tradition for us.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Seems like many of my close friends are turning 40 this year, so I'm getting the benefits of frequent celebrations. The first was Angelo, who hosted us at a great party in July with a real neighbourhood vibe, exactly reflecting where he's at in his life right now. Hands-down the best beer selection I've ever seen at any party, delicious food, perfect sunny weather, and a warm, friendly scene that anyone could melt into. I think we all felt honoured to be included, and Tannis and I had the added bonus of staying over and going for breakfast with the Eidses in the morning. Good times!

Plett could have partied in Manitoba, where it would have been harder for me and Myron to participate, so we were very happy to host him here for his 40th celebrations in August. Thanks to Heather for making that work, complete with making it a surprise. Highlights included an excellent session at Joey's that continued later in our backyard, an epic Dueck boating adventure through most of Saturday that turned into a BBQ at their place, and burgers on the way to airport on Sunday. A quick trip, but full of warmth and fun with an old friend.

We're celebrating Andrew's 40th in Vancouver next weekend, and Myron has a huge bash planned for November, so the fun will continue. I'm starting to stew on my own milestone birthday, which will sneak up on me soon enough.

Update: I think we celebrated Andrew's 40th in style, hitting Vancouver for a fun, quick trip. The Sylvia was a great place to land, Yaletown Brewpub was excellent, the symphony surprised us, and we even got to spend some time with other friends (Lorne and Andrew dropped in on Bill, while I connected with Angelo). Good times!

Update: They just keep coming! On the long weekend, Myron celebrated his 40th with dozens of friends up at his place -- a real bash with a great band, tons of food, and the shed done up in style. Even some friends from Manitoba came out, and Myron's folks too. We've gotten to know some of his friends from Penticton, so it's nice to connect with those people too.

More than anything, these events have made me so thankful for my close friendships -- I feel so lucky to have these excellent people in my life. I've also thought about how each of these celebrations reflected the personality and lifestyle of each birthday boy. Still trying to figure out what approach I'd like to take with mine in a couple of months.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

September is usually nice here, but I don't recall ever having such great weather this late. We keep thinking that the beach season is over, putting in huge sessions on what feels like "the last day of summer"...then finding that it just stays nice.

Update Oct.5, 2012: Well, it stayed warm right through until the end of September, and then we had an abrupt correction back to normal temps. However, the Thanksgiving forecast is still pretty great:

Viola: Air on a C String was an excellent BBC show that is apparently not available online any longer. They focused on the fact that many of the great composers used the viola as their primary instrument, which certainly interested this viola-playing composer.

Passage by Exitmusic
-- this woman’s voice broods, yowls, growls and whispers, always surrounded by just the right sounds, sometimes hushed, sometimes violent. Great song.

Reading

No Road Markings for Miles -- my mom collected and published our journals from the trip to Europe the two of us took together in 1993. My parts are occasionally painful to read, but it's a treasured keepsake and I've been enjoying picking it up these last few weeks.

Souvenir of Canada 2 by Douglas Coupland -- On Canada Day, I poured myself a frosty brew, pulled the lounger into a comfy spot under the mountain ash, and settled in to enjoy this classic slice of Canadiana. Perfect.

Chuck Friesen
was a guy from Rosenort who wrote some interesting things before he died of cancer last year. Based on his writing, he and I wouldn't share many beliefs, but for some reason I found this good reading to put things in perspective and be thankful for what we've got. I was interested in his take on the "mistakes" people make when visiting someone who is terminally ill, and in reading the push-back from some of the people who supported him through his last weeks and months.

Lakeland by Allan Casey -- If I tried to describe this book, it would sound dull, but it was anything but. I started with the chapters covering the lakes I knew best -- Okanagan and Lake of the Woods, Lake Winnipeg -- and just kept reading. I was fascinated by his take on the ice road on Lake Athabasca, the story of Grey Owl, and small-town Quebec culture...actually all of it was great. Beautifully written, highly recommended.

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking -- when I couldn't get this book from the library, I read all the other books they had on the topic of introversion. In some ways, I wish I had waited for this one, which was by far the best of the bunch. Very affirming, and it might even change the world if some extroverts would give it a shot.

With the girls, I've been reading Alex and the Ironic Gentleman, which I cannot recommend. On the other hand, we all adored The Shadow Thieves by Anne Ursu and promptly bought (!) the next two books in the series because the library won't have them for a while.

Program or Be Programmed
by Douglas Rushkoff -- I haven't been doing much reading about technology, but I enjoyed this. Some good cues to either unplug from passive use of the web, or get busy really creating stuff online.

Princess Mononoke -- I watched it again one night while Tannis and the kids were in Calgary. Still my favourite animated film.

The Hunger Games -- watched with Tannis, who is a fan of the books. Not the best movie, but entertaining enough, and made me want to read the series.

Percy Jackson -- so, so bad. And we loved the books.

Ramsay Downholers -- I'm not really sure how to describe this pilot for a TV series about an old-timer's hockey team in Ontario. It was surprisingly compelling, if only because it so accurately depicts the scene I've encountered here as well. Quite funny, but very low-brow.

The Continuum Concept -- I wish I would have read this before we had kids. The author studied the parenting of tribal peoples as a way of understanding our evolutionary history. Sort of like applying the paleo diet to parenting -- matching up strategies with what worked for a few hundred thousand generations. Tough read, clunky at times, but fascinating and mostly convincing.

Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman -- I'm not quite halfway through this one, but it's rocking my world. Brilliant researcher, good writer and a theme I'm into -- cognitive biases and decision making.

Blink by Malcolm Gladwell is like the pop-culture version of the book above. Wonderfully entertaining, highly readable and very convincing, yet after reading it I figured out why I had resisted it -- just because people tend to make snap decisions does not mean that it is good strategy to do so. I prefer Kahneman's cautionary tone and his deeper dive into the pitfalls of "Blink" decisions.

Closer -- this fourth book in the Tunnels series is the only fiction I read for myself (actually re-read), in anticipation of the fifth book, which has been sitting in cataloging at the ORL forever. This is real guilty-pleasure reading for me, where the fantastical settings, speedy pacing and creepy vibe help me suspend my disbelief and ignore the huge holes in the plots.

Weakerthans -- The Reasons -- terribly corny video, but I still love this song. Classic.

Japandroids -- Celebration Rock (streaming on NPR) -- awesome new album of rip-roaring new rock. These guys evoke a band from Winnipeg that we loved called Banned from Atlantis (listen to "Subtle Suggestions" for a great slice of raw early-'90s pop/post-punk)